Additional DM liability while on Vacation??
- Thread starter Scuba Geoff
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I just realized that a chunk of my message did not post and caused my point to get confused.
What I was referring to when I said "successfully sued" was that you can be sued and loose if you are in charge of a group, even if you have liability releases.
Being sued as a professional is always a possibility. Dot your i's and j's, don't be negligent, and you should be fine.
What I was referring to when I said "successfully sued" was that you can be sued and loose if you are in charge of a group, even if you have liability releases.
Being sued as a professional is always a possibility. Dot your i's and j's, don't be negligent, and you should be fine.
Sorry I am a little late to the dance here, but as a divemaster (12 years) and lawyer (34 years), may I provide the correct answer? I always show my DM card, because I am proud of it, and because it keeps operators from putting Debbie and I on a short leash. We often use the boat for transport and nothing else. I am also an independently insured divemaster, because I will invite others to dive with us, I am a working DM, and not being insured if you are functioning as a professional is stupid. If you undertake professional duties, or if people are reasonably relying on me to do so because of something I did or said. ("I'm a dm, I'll take you on this dive." "She'll be ok, I'll watch her") then if I fail to meet the standard of care for a divemaster with my training and experience and someone is hurt or otherwise harmed due to my failure, or negligence, I will be found liable. Any other statement of liability or potential liability is wrong. If you take the PADI divemaster course, you get an introduction to diving and the law. If the OP would like to private message me, I'll add to this response a bit. One good rule of thumb is don't take legal advice from a non-lawyer, and also, you get what you pay for. I hope the non-attorneys who have responded here understand that, and I hope readers will ignore their opinions.
So, just being a DM on a dive does not create any special liability problems unless you meet the criteria above.
DivemasterDennis
So, just being a DM on a dive does not create any special liability problems unless you meet the criteria above.
DivemasterDennis
When on vacation, I show my AOW and Nitrox card (if Nitrox is available). I do this because showing your DM card advertises that you probably have high dollar liability insurance.
One thing you have to remember is that no matter what you do failure to do something can land you in hot water. Typically it will fall on the crew of the boat and the company owners. If they drop the ball then it will trickle down. You can bet Id sue if my family died while yelling for help and NO one did anything.
Its difficult to say because lawyers have really made a mess of things over the years but bear in mind what it would look like to a jury if something where to happen and you intentionally deceived the crew, company and guest by saying you were only AOW or Rescue when in fact a divemaster. It would lead into a whole new mess you dont want to be in.
As far as likely to be sued while not working. It would only be likely you would be sued successfuly if you witnessed the crew being negligent and still failed to respond to the situation as you could be the next most qualified person. I am sure I will have someone say I am wrong for this but my opinion comes from over 20 years of being working with the legal system.
Its difficult to say because lawyers have really made a mess of things over the years but bear in mind what it would look like to a jury if something where to happen and you intentionally deceived the crew, company and guest by saying you were only AOW or Rescue when in fact a divemaster. It would lead into a whole new mess you dont want to be in.
As far as likely to be sued while not working. It would only be likely you would be sued successfuly if you witnessed the crew being negligent and still failed to respond to the situation as you could be the next most qualified person. I am sure I will have someone say I am wrong for this but my opinion comes from over 20 years of being working with the legal system.
you can't just buy "cool"
and if you're a "divemaster",you really won't worry about it!
if you're trained correctly...
sorry,in late,but my 2 cents
have fun
yage
and if you're a "divemaster",you really won't worry about it!
if you're trained correctly...
sorry,in late,but my 2 cents
have fun
yage
doc-steve
New
Question -- mostly for Divemaster Dennis
I've discovered that diving from cruise ships, the quality of one's dive buddy can be iffy. As a dive buddy who has been trained as a divemaster, my reaction to a diver who has lost his buoyancy has been to swim up to the diver and dump his air before he completes a bolt to the surface: diver is grateful and is attached to me for the rest of the cruise. Does that transcend the role of dive buddy? Alternatively, on the subsequent dives, if he now expects me to act as a divemaster and not just as a dive buddy, has that created liability if I agree to be his dive buddy?
As for the question about cards, I have instructor friends who show their AOW card just so they don't get asked to work; I've been drafted into divemastering mid-charter "(you're insured by who?" -- nobody could make up "Vincencia and Barkley").
Steve
I've discovered that diving from cruise ships, the quality of one's dive buddy can be iffy. As a dive buddy who has been trained as a divemaster, my reaction to a diver who has lost his buoyancy has been to swim up to the diver and dump his air before he completes a bolt to the surface: diver is grateful and is attached to me for the rest of the cruise. Does that transcend the role of dive buddy? Alternatively, on the subsequent dives, if he now expects me to act as a divemaster and not just as a dive buddy, has that created liability if I agree to be his dive buddy?
As for the question about cards, I have instructor friends who show their AOW card just so they don't get asked to work; I've been drafted into divemastering mid-charter "(you're insured by who?" -- nobody could make up "Vincencia and Barkley").
Steve
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